Pancakes
by DizzyDrea
Summary: Some mornings were pancake mornings. An Always coda.


Title: Pancakes  
Author: DizzyDrea  
Summary: Some mornings were pancake mornings. _An Always coda._  
Rating: T  
Spoilers: Always  
Author's Notes: I know it isn't going to be all harps and flowers for these two, come season five, but I wanted to write this moment as fluffy as possible because I think I've used my angst quota for the year. And, I love pancakes.  
Disclaimer: Castle is the property of ABC, ABC Studios, Beacon Productions and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~o~

Some mornings were pancake mornings.

Mornings when the celebration needed to be over the top, and nothing but chocolate chip pancakes would do.

Or mornings when the outlook—or the weather—was so bleak that only lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) dancing across the breakfast bar would chase away the shadows.

This morning, Rick Castle had decided, was a pancake morning.

He'd decided this moments after waking, curled around the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

Kate Beckett looked… like she belonged there, in his bed.

He couldn't believe after everything they'd been through, after all the words and the hurts, that she'd come back to him. But the early morning sunlight bathing her face in an angelic glow was proof positive that, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and Ricky had been a very good boy.

He hadn't wanted to leave her, but this morning simply cried out for pancakes, and so he'd slipped quietly out of bed, pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt and padded out to the kitchen to get the griddle going.

He was so intent on the task of whisking the batter that he nearly jumped through the ceiling when her arms slid around his waist.

"Geez, Kate!" he exclaimed as he ran his finger along the edge of the bowl, cleaning up the bit of batter that had sloshed over the rim.

"Mmmm," she said, pressing herself against his back. "Why didn't you wake me?"

He set aside the bowl and spun in her arms, wrapping his securely around her shoulders as he dropped a kiss into her sleep-mussed hair. She was, much to his delight, wearing one of his dress shirts… and nothing else.

"We were up kinda late last night," he said. "I thought I'd let you sleep."

"We were up kinda late, weren't we?" she asked. She pulled back slightly, and the look she was giving him almost made him forget about the pancakes.

He leaned down and brushed a kiss over her lips. "Yes, we were. Want some coffee?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she said, smiling up at him.

"You're going to need to let me go so I can get it for you," he said when it became clear that she wasn't budging.

"Do I have to?"

He chuckled. Sleepy Kate was adorable.

"Yes, I'm afraid that you do."

"Fine," she grumbled.

She pushed up onto her toes, taking his lips in a toe-curling kiss before she stepped back. He leaned in to follow, but she stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"Coffee."

He rolled his eyes, leaning in to steal one last quick kiss before turning to the espresso machine. He glanced back to find Kate had hopped up onto the counter, swinging her legs like a kid as she watched him make her coffee.

He smiled, then turned back to finish steaming the milk. "So, did you sleep well?"

"Mmmm, like a baby," she said. "You?"

"I slept very well," he said, turning with a flourish to present her with her cup of coffee. "Here you go, my lady. One freshly-brewed cup of latte. Note the custom foam."

She peered down into the cup, a smile tugging at her lips. He couldn't help himself; he'd poured a heart into the foam. His regular barista had clued in pretty quick to the identity of the other half of his usual two cup coffee order; she'd started pouring foam hearts into the coffee after just a few weeks, and now he wore his heart in her coffee cup.

Something stirred inside him at the look of pure bliss crossing Kate's face as she sipped at her coffee. It was a look he knew well by now, having seen it on her more than once the night before. Just the memory of those hours spent together, after believing he'd never see her again, brought a lump to his throat and made his heart thunder in his chest, all at the same time.

He plucked the cup out of her hands and set it aside.

"Hey!"

Cupping her face in his hands, he stepped between her legs and kissed her. She responded immediately, opening under him as he relearned her taste, now tinged with the taste of his coffee. He felt his hunger for her sweeping through him, and knew he was powerless to stop it.

Not that he minded. He was already addicted to her kisses; hell, he was already addicted to her.

She slid her hands up under his t-shirt, and his knees went weak, but he didn't break the kiss. Instead, he reached for the buttons of his shirt—the crisp white one she was wearing—and began to pop them, one by one. Somewhere after the third or fourth button he gave up and started pushing the fabric down over her shoulders as he blazed a trail of kisses down her neck and over her shoulder, drawing moans out of Kate that only spurred him on.

"Oh, my god! Richard!"

Rick stood bolt upright, spotting his mother on the other side of the counter with her hand over her eyes.

"Mother," he said warily. "I thought you were out."

Kate burrowed her face into his shoulder as she tugged ineffectively at the shirt, trying to cover herself up.

"Obviously not," Martha Rodgers said, her exasperation clear.

Kate straightened up a bit to whisper in his ear. "Rick."

Looking back at Kate, he followed her eyes to where his hand had sneaked under the fabric of his shirt.

"Sorry," he muttered as he snatched his hand back. He started to lean back, but Kate hung on, and when he frowned in confusion, she glanced down once again. Giving her an apologetic smile, he pulled the two sides of the shirt together and buttoned them back up. That done, he cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her softly. "Okay?"

"Is she still staring at us?"

Rick glanced over her shoulder. His mother was still standing in the same place, but she'd dropped her hand and was now grinning gleefully at them. He smirked, then turned back to Kate.

"Yes, she is."

Kate sighed, dropping her head to his shoulder. "This is so embarrassing."

"Nonsense," Martha said, waving the younger woman off with a smile. "It's nothing I haven't seen before. Or done, for that matter."

Rick and Kate groaned in unison. "I so didn't need to know that, Mother."

"Oh, relax," she said. "I just came down for a cup of coffee. I'll be out of your hair in a moment, I promise."

"I think I'm going to go change," Kate said, turning apologetic eyes to Rick.

He kissed her forehead. "Sweats are in the top drawer of my dresser."

She smiled faintly at him, but didn't say anything else as she hopped down off the counter and did the walk of shame across the loft, avoiding meeting Martha's eyes as she passed. Rick watched her go, a look of fond affection on his face.

When Kate had disappeared into Rick's office, Martha turned to her son. "When did that happen?"

"When did what happen, Mother?" Rick asked. He grabbed Kate's abandoned coffee cup and poured out the brew.

Martha sat down on one of the bar stools as she watched her son making another cup of coffee. Rick could feel her eyes boring through him, waiting for him to explain, but he hadn't even talked about it with Kate. He wasn't having that conversation with his mother before he had it with his… girlfriend. That thought brought a smile to his face.

"What's that smile for?"

Rick finished making her coffee, setting the cup in front of her, then leaned over to rest his elbows on the counter. He knew he was smiling, but he just couldn't stop.

"Kate showed up last night, late," he said by way of explanation.

"I can see that," Martha said, a sly grin on her face.

He smirked right back, but the smirk melted into a frown after just a moment. "She had a close call yesterday. It made her realize some things, which is why she came over."

"I'm glad," Martha said, smiling as she reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'm happy for you. For both of you. I think you need each other more than either of you wants to admit."

"Probably," he said, snorting. "I just hope I don't screw it up this time."

"You won't," she said with conviction. "Kate's got something the others didn't."

"Oh?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her. "And what's that?"

"Your heart."

A full Castle smile bloomed on his face. "That she does."

Rick caught movement in the office and straightened up. He fully expected to see Kate wearing yesterday's clothes, ready to beat a hasty retreat out of the apartment. But to his surprise and delight, she appeared still wearing his shirt, but now she had on a pair of his sweatpants. Her hair had been combed, and her face shone like she'd just scrubbed it.

She made her way across the room, still wearing a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry, Martha," Kate said as she took a seat on the barstool next to her.

"Whatever for?" Martha asked.

"For…" Kate said, waving her hand in the general direction of the kitchen, "before."

"Sweetheart," Martha said, turning and taking Kate's hand much the same way she'd done with her son. "As long as you two are happy, then I'm happy, too. I'll just make sure to check the room before I go barging in from now on."

"Maybe I'll put a sock on the banister for good measure," Rick said, winking at Kate.

Kate blushed, bringing a smile to Rick's face. He'd never seen her looking so vulnerable, and he didn't think he'd ever get enough. The only thing that would make this morning more perfect would be having Alexis there. But, he promised himself that this wouldn't be the last pancake morning with Kate. There'd be other chances; he'd make sure of it.

"Now," he said, clapping his hands together, a grin spreading on his face. "Who wants pancakes?"

~Finis


End file.
